Displaced families: With starts and stops, registration process falls apart
IDP numbers swell to 787,888, according to a chief secretary control room report.
PESHAWAR:
The registration of internally displaced persons from North Waziristan Agency started in the city after a three-hour delay and came to a halt before the scheduled end.
The process of registering people from Miranshah was supposed to begin at 7am but it started at around 10am due to a lack of security and other necessary arrangements, said Haseeb Khan, who is the deputy director for the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA).
Disaster management officials and families reached the venue, Government Degree College in Hayatabad Phase 7, early in the morning but there was no staff to organise the people into queues. The registration was stopped at that point, said Khan. It will start again on Tuesday (today), he added, when the people of Miranshah will be registered with families from Boya and Datta Khel.
However, the mismanagement meant that the displaced families had to wait under the scorching sun. Ameer Rehman, who reached the venue on time, told The Express Tribune, “The thirst is unbearable, it’s Ramazan and we had to wait in a long line.”
Only two gates were open to enter the college, said Syed Kamal, another displaced person. There was no separate entrance for women, who also had to suffer the heat and the rush, he added.
The process, which was meant to begin full swing on July 7 will continue till July 14. After the families from tehsils of North Waziristan Agency are registered in Peshawar, they will be eligible to receive Rs5,000 in cash for rent for accommodation and the Ramazan package as promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Daily situation report
According to a daily situation report issued by the chief secretary’s control room set up at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), a total of 62,493 families and 787,888 individuals have been registered at PDMA registration points. Sunday’s reports had placed this figure at 572,529. A large number of livestock have also been brought over by the people.
A relief camp has been set up at Bannu and works under the PDMA. It will support the district administration in relief work. The situation report states a decision was taken by the federal government to also set up camps inside the frontier regions which fall within the jurisdiction of the Fata administration.
Camps established by the FDMA are jointly administered by the Pakistan Army and the disaster management authority, where all facilities like shelter, cooked food, water and other allied services are being provided.
Streamlining assistance
As many of the people have chosen to live off camp sites, the provincial government has decided to convert material aid into cash assistance for at least 15,000 families each of which will be given Rs3,000 per month up to six months, stated the report.
Both FDMA and PDMA are transferring aid on the basis of data verified by the National Database and Registration Authority.
The statement added that humanitarian assistance has been streamlined, on the orders of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, by channelling relief through the government, with particular focus on the offices of the deputy commissioners.
The PDMA has requested all deputy commissioners to form district-level committees to gather information about displaced people living with their relatives. This data will be used for security as well as the provision of relief these people.
Health facilities
The director-general of health services paid a visit to Bannu and formed teams to provide round-the-clock emergency care to the displaced people. This will include the treatment for heat stroke, joint aches, immunisations among other complaints.
The public health engineering department has also been directed to ensure they provide clean drinking water at the camps.
Additional vehicles were also placed at the disposal of the Bannu district administration. Rescue 1122 has provided three state-of-the-art ambulances as well as staff, added the statement.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.
The registration of internally displaced persons from North Waziristan Agency started in the city after a three-hour delay and came to a halt before the scheduled end.
The process of registering people from Miranshah was supposed to begin at 7am but it started at around 10am due to a lack of security and other necessary arrangements, said Haseeb Khan, who is the deputy director for the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA).
Disaster management officials and families reached the venue, Government Degree College in Hayatabad Phase 7, early in the morning but there was no staff to organise the people into queues. The registration was stopped at that point, said Khan. It will start again on Tuesday (today), he added, when the people of Miranshah will be registered with families from Boya and Datta Khel.
However, the mismanagement meant that the displaced families had to wait under the scorching sun. Ameer Rehman, who reached the venue on time, told The Express Tribune, “The thirst is unbearable, it’s Ramazan and we had to wait in a long line.”
Only two gates were open to enter the college, said Syed Kamal, another displaced person. There was no separate entrance for women, who also had to suffer the heat and the rush, he added.
The process, which was meant to begin full swing on July 7 will continue till July 14. After the families from tehsils of North Waziristan Agency are registered in Peshawar, they will be eligible to receive Rs5,000 in cash for rent for accommodation and the Ramazan package as promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Daily situation report
According to a daily situation report issued by the chief secretary’s control room set up at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), a total of 62,493 families and 787,888 individuals have been registered at PDMA registration points. Sunday’s reports had placed this figure at 572,529. A large number of livestock have also been brought over by the people.
A relief camp has been set up at Bannu and works under the PDMA. It will support the district administration in relief work. The situation report states a decision was taken by the federal government to also set up camps inside the frontier regions which fall within the jurisdiction of the Fata administration.
Camps established by the FDMA are jointly administered by the Pakistan Army and the disaster management authority, where all facilities like shelter, cooked food, water and other allied services are being provided.
Streamlining assistance
As many of the people have chosen to live off camp sites, the provincial government has decided to convert material aid into cash assistance for at least 15,000 families each of which will be given Rs3,000 per month up to six months, stated the report.
Both FDMA and PDMA are transferring aid on the basis of data verified by the National Database and Registration Authority.
The statement added that humanitarian assistance has been streamlined, on the orders of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, by channelling relief through the government, with particular focus on the offices of the deputy commissioners.
The PDMA has requested all deputy commissioners to form district-level committees to gather information about displaced people living with their relatives. This data will be used for security as well as the provision of relief these people.
Health facilities
The director-general of health services paid a visit to Bannu and formed teams to provide round-the-clock emergency care to the displaced people. This will include the treatment for heat stroke, joint aches, immunisations among other complaints.
The public health engineering department has also been directed to ensure they provide clean drinking water at the camps.
Additional vehicles were also placed at the disposal of the Bannu district administration. Rescue 1122 has provided three state-of-the-art ambulances as well as staff, added the statement.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.